Such grates are generally exposed to great wear. This is particularly true for their use during cooling of cement clinkers, which with great weight also have a coarse surface roughness.
A frame element of the type mentioned in the Oberbegriff of claim 1 is already known from EP-0 167 658 B1. This frame element consists of two basic structural parts, of which each has a side member and several plate members connected in one piece at twice the distance of the provided plate member distance to same; the frame element is mounted by connecting two side members with one another in such a manner that the plate members on one side member grip between the plate members on the other side area and are placed into receiving openings constructed on said side area. In order to hold together the frame element formed of the basic structural parts, the basic structural parts are, for example, additionally bolted together on the underside of the frame element.
A disadvantage of the known construction is that when individual plate members and/or side members wear excessively, the entire frame element or at least complete basic structural parts must be replaced, in the latter case with the connection holding together the structural parts having to be disconnected in a complicated manner and having to again be connected after a basic structural part has been replaced. In general still usable, nonworn parts of the frame element are thereby also replaced, which results in high material replacement costs; on the other hand, the disassembling and assembling operations are time-consuming, which results regularly in longer down times for the entire system. This problem is made still more difficult since several frame elements are connected with one another to form a grate and this grate is in turn fastened on a grate carrier so that, for example, the necessity of replacing individual plate members always has the result that also the walls connected thereto must be exchanged and that also their connection to the frame elements adjacent to the walls and to the grate carrier must be disconnected and again connected after the exchange.